Tag Archives: maternity style

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for BellaGravida. I received a complimentary subscription and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

As I shared earlier this fall, I had a chance to try the new Bella Gravida maternity “wardrobe rental” service. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew I didn’t want to spend a fortune on maternity clothes… and… that I kind of needed to wear something other than my husband’s sweatpants when leaving the house.

I am expecting my second delivery from Bella Gravida this week, but my experience with the first delivery was largely positive. I received a maxi skirt, a maxi dress and a long-sleeved top. The skirt did not fit well, but I really, really liked both the dress and top.

What I loved

Returning items is extremely easy. Bella Gravida includes a postage-paid envelope with each delivery. Once I was ready to return my items, all I had to do was drop the envelope at the Post Office.

Laundering is included in the monthly fee — no need to worry about washing or dry cleaning items before you send them back.

You have the option to buy styles you love, rather than sending them back and this, too, is very easy.

There is no deadline to return a particular item — you can keep it as long as you like.

Unlimited exchanges during the month — you can send back items to be replaced with new items as many times as you’d like.

This top by Everly Grey was my favorite item — I held onto it for weeks and loved that I could dress it up or down.

Changes I’d love to see

Website improvements: The website is not especially user-friendly. I toyed with buying one of the items sent with me, but it was not appearing in my “closet.” I contacted customer service by email, though, and received a prompt response and the issue was resolved that same day.

The company’s slogan (“We’re not a subscription box. We’re a subscription wardrobe.”) might not be entirely accurate. I was provided with two month’s of Three Styles at a Time, which retails for $79/month. If you ask me, three articles of clothing do not a wardrobe make… and $79 is not chump change. Also, I was hoping for a great pair or two of maternity jeans or black skinnies, but alas… there are currently no pants available. I feel like pants are sort of critical to one’s wardrobe.

More information about individual styles: I’d love to see more information about both material and fit for each style. This would make filling my personal closet a lot easier. Being allergic to wool, I hesitated to add most sweaters and tops to my closet, which left me with limited choices.

The bottom line:

We had several weddings and special events to attend this fall and between the acrobatic feat that is climbing into maternity nylons (Whyyyyyyyy?) and lack of in-store options to try on, I could have used some help finding a great dress. I think special occasions (rather than attempting to build an every day wardrobe) are the perfect reason to use a service like Bella Gravida.

They have a large (and beautiful) selection of dresses available, which I am sure will be attractive to other expecting mothers as we head into the holiday season, and so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend women check out Bella Gravida for this purpose. With family get togethers, office parties, and special holiday events, I can see a real benefit to having great looking maternity dresses shipped directly to you (and styles may be en route to you as quickly as 48 hours after adding them to your personal closet).

Even in the short amount of time that I’ve been familiar with Bella Gravida, I’ve noticed improvements being made (and more and more styles being added)… which leads me to believe the service will keep getting better.

Current promotions:

Bella Gravida is offering one free month to new users. Simply sign up for a membership at BellaGravida.com.

By Thanksgiving, BellaGravida will be launching their ‘Give The Gift of Style’ feature. If there are expecting mothers on your gift list for the holiday season, consider giving them a Bella Gravida subscription.

Thank you for sharing:

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for BellaGravida. I received a complimentary subscription and promotional item to thank me for my participation.

That post title has two too many hyphens. And I am too pregnant lazy to come up with something better. My apologies. As I shared earlier, I’ve been feeling a bit scattered lately. Some days it feels like I will be pregnant for another 8 months. Some days it feels like our baby boy will be here tomorrow. And, this being the second time around, there are things that I feel like we have a good handle on. But I worry about having a false sense of security… like there are things I am completely forgetting about.

Kick up your heels and make a list!

While it’s not exactly go time, there are a few things I probably should get done, not only so our little guy comes home to a stash of tiny diapers and plenty of burp cloths, but so I can quiet my brain a bit and enjoy this last trimester (and Grace’s last weeks as our one and only) as much as possible. Making a list seemed like a good start.

The pre-baby to-do list (a work in progress…)

Go through Grace’s old clothes and pull out, re-wash and put away anything that is neither extra hot pink nor extra ruffly. (At the very least, I think there are a few sets of gender neutral pajamas in there.) The rest will go back to storage for a future niece or friend.

Pack a hospital bag for me and Nick, and a Party with Grandma and Grandpa! bag for Grace

Get a pedicure (wishful thinking)

I’m sure I’ll think of 70 more items to add, but this is a start. And it feels good to start checking off items. I’m getting a bit of help with the wardrobe issue thanks to Influence Central and the chance to try out BellaGravida, a new service that provides a virtual revolving closet to pregnant and nursing women.

I consigned nearly all of my maternity clothes after Grace was born (most were office attire… and I was sick to death of them), and sadly, beach season is over… so this opportunity comes at the perfect time. I’ve found it nearly impossible to find affordable, well made, non-ugly maternity clothes this time around. I’ve been hesitant to buy anything beyond a few pairs of maternity leggings and long tanks, which are kind of amazing even when you’re not pregnant (trust me).

I am hoping BellaGravida (which means “beautifully pregnant” in Italian) will help fill in the gaps in my maternity wardrobe and take the stress out of finding something to wear for the upcoming weddings and parties on our calendar this month.

A few highlights of the newly-launched service:

Flat, monthly fee (subscriptions begin at $39/month)

No return deadlines

Unlimited exchanges

Laundry service included

Dozens of maternity designers and brands available

I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with BellaGravida with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’ve got a list to tackle.

Also On Tap for Today:

I should probably be paying attention to the weather (what’s that I hear about a hurricane?)